Role of 2-D periodic symmetrical nanostructures in improving efficiency of thin film solar cells

We systematically investigated several different nanostructures in crystalline silicon (c-Si) thin film solar cells and then proposed a brand-new structure with two dimensional (2-D) periodic dielectric cylinders on the top and annular metal columns on bottom surface to enhance the optical harvesting. The periodic symmetrical nanostructures affect the solar cell efficiency due to the grating diffraction effect of dielectric columns and surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) effect induced by metal nanostructures at the dielectric-metal interface. About 52.1% more optical absorption and 33.3% more power conversion efficiency are obtained, and the maximum short current reaches to 33.24 mA/cm2.